The Boy Who Died and Saw Heaven Admits Making It All Up

His book, The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, will be pulled from shelves.

In 2004, a 6-year-old Alex Malarkey spent months in a coma after a horrible car crash. And after he woke up, he shared his story in his best-selling book, The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, co-authored by him and his father. But now, Malarkey is saying it was all untrue.

Malarkey, who is now 16-years-old, gave a statement to the website Pulpit and Pen saying he made his story up, and deeply regrets misleading readers. Here's an excerpt:

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"I did not die. I did not go to heaven. I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible."

The book was one of many in a genre called "heavenly tourism," which is controversial among Christian groups. Malarkey's mother, who is divorced from his father, even criticized the book on her blog, claiming Alex's name and image were being used without his permission. "Sometimes bits of truth can become so twisted and distorted that it seems impossible to straighten out," she wrote.

Based on his new statement, the book's publisher, Tyndale House, is taking the book and related products out of print, NPR reports.